neighborhood surveillance

"In the refinery towns where I’ve worked for 17 years, the police and private security have consistently harassed me and those I work with. When we stop near a refinery and take a picture of a burning flame or black cloud of pollution, we know to snap fast. A police officer or oil industry security guard will pull up and tell us what we’re doing is illegal, even though it’s not. The law may be on our side, but these security forces are not. It’s often not worth risking a dangerous encounter in a small southern town to stop and record pollution. What we’re recording is another form of violence – this kind the long, steady attack of carcinogens and neurotoxins that ruin the health and the lives of those in Louisiana, usually African Americans, who are unfortunate enough to live cheek to cheek with Big Oil’s refineries."   -   Anne Rolfes, Founding Director Louisiana Bucket Brigade


http://www.labucketbrigade.org/blog/i-expect-more-violence-oil-industry